Whoever created the movie, Gremlins, must’ve been a parent. It’s the perfect analogy for children. Ever look at your child one minute and they are sweet and cute (Gizmo), then the next they are foaming at the mouth and having the biggest tantrum ever (Gremlin)? I call this the Gizmo to Gremlin transition. It happens in the blink of an eye. I’m compiling a list of the things that cause it so I and others can be more aware..
9 Things that will turn your gizmo into a gremlin:
1.) Go on a playdate without a snack/drink or go anywhere without a snack/drink. They will claim to be dying of thirst the second they realize you have nothing for them to drink. You will end up buying a $3 water somewhere. If you are on a playdate at a friend’s house, they will eat everything in your friend’s kitchen or complain the entire time about being hungry. You may end up clamping a hand down over their mouth and making a bad impression with said friend. :-p
2.) Let them stay up past midnight. In the Gremlins movie, you aren’t supposed to feed them after midnight, but in real life – it’s don’t let the kids stay up past midnight – you’ll regret it. We frequently let our girls sleep together on the weekend and next thing you know, they are each breaking down in turns and your whole weekend is consumed by tears.
3.) Wake them up from a nap. The phrase never wake a sleeping baby applies to everyone: never wake a sleeping baby, never wake a sleeping toddler, never wake a sleeping preschooler, never wake a sleeping husband.
4.) The witching hour: anytime between 4pm and 6pm.
5.) Serve them anything homemade. I no longer answer my kids when they ask me what’s for dinner. I tell them that’s a loaded question! Or I’ll tell them it’s something frozen that I warmed up b/c they trust that stuff more than they trust my cooking skills..
6.) Tell them you are going to Home Depot. They hate Home Depot, mostly because they will usually end up getting barked at by some old, grouchy person that thinks kids shouldn’t exist in this world. But some are nice and give them lollipops so it just depends.
7.) Tell them it’s time to clean. Although, now that they are older, I find that I tell them all to clean just to get them to play quietly together. Somehow telling them to clean, causes them to play nicely. Not exactly the desired response, but close. Sometimes, as a parent, you have to improvise and be flexible to get what you want. :-p
8.) Tell them no at the store. I like to say, we’ll add that to the Christmas list. If they push further, I pretend to add it to a list on my phone.. This applies more when they are little – now, for my older children I say no incessantly at the store – it’s like I’m making up for all the times I couldn’t say it when they were little.
9.) Tell them to share. This evicts the worst response. It’s like you are asking them to set their toy on fire or something. Telling them to take turns isn’t much better – they will watch the clock like a hawk and nag you incessantly to see if it’s time yet.
Anyone else have any other things? My kids are 4, 7, & 9 so the list might’ve been different when they were younger.. No, wait, it was definitely different and more exhaustive when they were younger. I used to say – it’s so hard being little – all the time because it seemed like EVERYTHING upset them. Seriously, you could say, “We are going to the park!” and they’d get upset.
And gremlin kid after they’ve eaten all the snacks out of your friend’s pantry:
And now I’m going to flip the script down here and write about times when Mom turns from Gizmo to Gremlin:
Here’s Mom “happily” at the computer paying bills:
These are the things that turn Mom into a gremlin:
1.) Talking to me after bedtime.
2.) Scream mommy from another room over and over again and expecting me to come running like I’m some kind of butler.
3.) Leaving the house without shoes on or with only dress up shoes on and not finding out until we are at the destination.
4.) Incessant fighting.
5.) The sound of the bead bucket hitting the floor.
6.) Bouncing around so much upstairs that it sounds like a Jumanji style stampede is going to come through your ceiling.
7.) Having to repeat myself for the 5th or 6th time.
And gremlin Mom (angrily stuffing face with cookies while offering the kids none):
